Jake Paul Smashed YouTube Kid's Ferrari, Company Says Father Who Rented it Won't Pay Up
By TheBlast Staff on February 24, 2018 at 3:37 AM EST
The quest to be a viral sensation has taken another interesting turn after it's now exposed that Jake Paul smashed a vehicle rented by the father of a YouTube kid for the purpose of helping his son achieve internet fame, and now the company says he's refusing to pay and blaming it all on Paul.
According to documents obtained by The Blast, wannabe YouTube star Justin Roberts' father, Marc Roberts, rented a 2017 Ferrari 488 Spider worth $292,000 from Los Angeles based Elite Lux Life in October 2017.
It was given to 15-year-old Justin and used in a video where another YouTube star, and brother of Logan, Jake Paul smashed the front windshield with bolt cutters after winning a game of "Rock Paper Scissors."
!youtube-embed(https://youtu.be/oqfwUmAOtuY?t=1m28s)
Problem is, that's not what was allegedly reported back to the rental company, who saw the video in December when Justin posted it to his YouTube page, and they were irate because the car is actually owned by a rental partner of theirs and was a specific request.
Sources close to the situation say when the car was picked up from Elite, the kid's father blamed the busted windshield on a falling tree branch. The truth wasn't revealed until after the video was posted, and they immediately texted Marc to confront him on the incident.
Marc profusely apologized and put the blame on Paul, saying "I had NO IDEA and either[sic] did my son that Jake would do something like that," adding, "My son recently turned 15 and he was in No Position to Stop Jake He Never Ever thought Jake would Really do something like that to Ferrari."
The Blast spoke with Marc, who says "In No way SHAPE OR FORM DO I BLAME JAKE," however the messages appear to suggest otherwise.
Blast
Elite informed Marc that when it's reported to the insurance company, it would also be filed as an accident report, and because it's posted on social media it will be considered a "premeditated act of vandalism," which puts them at risk of getting dropped from their commercial policy and impacting their business in a major way. The report would also have to be made with police, which would put Justin and Jake in danger of possibly being charged with vandalism for the damage.
We're told Elite has since lawyered up and initiated a legal conversation with Marc, who allegedly asked for nothing official to be filed with insurance or police, and promised to cover all the costs for the damage plus what the company was bleeding daily rental loss.
We're told some payments were made, but that Marc has allegedly been unwilling to pay off the remaining balance of $34,000.
Marc, for his part, is adamant he has paid in full, telling us "There is zero money owed."
TheBlast
We're told Elite's position is that Justin's father has refused to settle the balance and has also stopped communicating. Their company lawyer has now retained a litigator and tells us they plan on going after Marc for what they believe they are owed.
TheBlast